


Heartbeat

by DesertLily



Series: Holidays 2019 [5]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Enby!Race, Love Confessions, M/M, Race is an IDIOT, Sick!Race, Sickfic, Spot is soft for Race, nb!Race, nonbinary!Race, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21920038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: Racetrack Higgins isn't exactly a champion in regards to self-preservation - something their roommate knows well when Spot is stuck looking after a sick Race.
Relationships: Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Series: Holidays 2019 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579699
Kudos: 43





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another holiday fic for a friend! I kinda like how this one turned out!

Racetrack Higgins would swear to anyone who asked that they weren’t sick but it was extremely clear that their roommate didn’t even remotely believe them. By now, Spot was very much used to dealing with their bullshit. In all honesty, who wasn’t? By now it was standard that everything Race did was sprinkled with a little bit of stupidity. Well, a lot of stupidity actually. They had a single brain cell and no idea how to use it, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Which was why it wasn’t entirely out of the ordinary for Race to hide the fact they were sick.  
  
Initially, they had simply assumed it was a cold. That was relatively normal for that time of year, right? Nothing worth worrying about. Race was, however, being stubborn and ignoring how a strain of the flu had been going around campus for the last few weeks. It was easier to assume it was just a cold. They had to worry about it less if it was just a cold. Just a cough and some sniffling that would clear up in a few days. Only, it didn’t clear up. It got worse. The cough was quick to grow harsh and wheezy; becoming loud enough to wake Spot up if Race found themself stuck in a coughing fit late at night. The cough seemed to bring a fever with it. One that led to Race leaving the window wide open in an attempt to cool down - much to the chagrin of Spot who evidently didn’t seem to enjoy coming home to a freezing room.  
  
Finally, Spot seemed to reach the breaking point of dealing with Race’s bullshit the morning he found them hunched over the toilet in the early hours of the morning. Racetrack felt positively pitiful as they emptied out the contents of their stomach. “You know, it doesn’t actually do you any harm to tell someone that you’re sick instead of acting like a complete dumbass, Higgins.” They were only able to let out a pitiful whine as Spot knelt down beside them. Race felt themself leaning in to his touch as Spot pressed the back of his hand to their forehead. He looked more than a little exasperated. “Just...Get back to bed, alright? I’ll wait until you’re actually coherent to scream at you.”  
  
A small smile managed to creep its way onto Racetrack’s face as they let Spot lead them back to bed. They were fairly certain this was the closest to gentle they had seen him since the two had met. It was...nice, or maybe that was just the fever talking. Probably just the fever. Race doubted Spot Conlon did many things that could be considered ‘nice’. It was definitely their fever making them see things as Spot was absolutely not tucking them back in to bed. It was simply not possible. Not even remotely. They didn’t get a chance to think on it further as they were soon to fall asleep.  
  
After that, Race seemed to drift in and out of consciousness for a while. Everything seemed to be noncoherent. Nothing truly made sense. There were a few moments where they remembered something cold being placed on their forehead or a glass being pressed to their lips. But for the most part, it was all just like static in their mind. Though, they did occasionally catch snippets of voices; voices they knew they should be able to recognise or place a face to but not a single name came to mind. But they knew one thing for certain; almost all of them seemed to hold some kind of gentleness. It was almost...soothing, in a way.  
  
The next time that Race woke up even semi-coherently it was to the action of someone changing the cold flannel on their forehead. It took them a few moments to fully register who it was. “...’pot?” A mild disbelief filled their voice as they glanced up at him. He was perhaps the last person they had expected to look after them.  
  
In less than a second, Spot’s eyes seemed to meet theirs. His were filled with a genuine concern that threw Race off slightly. “Jesus, Racer.” He breathed out in what was clearly relief. “You scared the shit out of all of us. How are you feeling?”  
  
They blinked a couple of times before settling on an answer. “Weird.” Race decided. It was the only way they could describe the fuzziness that still clouded their mind or the way everything just felt...off. “You been here the entire time?” At his nod, a lazy smile crept on to their face. “...Love you.” Both of them froze at those words. Race’s crush on their roommate wasn’t something they had ever hidden entirely well but it was also something they had never had any intention of admitting to. Just as they were about to blame it on their fever, a soft look seemed to form on Spot’s face.  
  
“...Get some rest, pretty boy.” He murmured softly. “We can talk about it properly when you actually know what you’re saying.” With a small nod, Race let sleep take hold of them once more.  
  
When Race woke up next, they felt cold and they were also drenched in a layer of sweat. Their fever had finally broken. What they hadn’t expected to see upon waking up was Spot dozing off on the floor beside their bed, his head rested against his arms. It was almost...cute to watch. Attempting to move as slowly as they could, Race began to push themself in to a sitting position.  
  
It seemed the action was enough to wake Spot as he seemed to jump back slightly from his position on the floor, eyes snapping open. “Racer!” He stared at them for a few moments. “Don’t you ever fucking scare me like that again, asshole!” And there was the Spot Conlon they had come to grow and love. “...Just fuck, Anthony. You tell someone when you’re sick, alright? You don’t let yourself get like this.” It was rare that Race ever used their real name anymore but they couldn’t deny that they liked the way Spot said it.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Both of them seemed surprised at Race’s words. They took a deep breath before speaking again. “...Meant what I said to you.”  
  
“I know.” Oh shit. Race felt their heart drop slightly at that. “You’re really not good at hiding it, pretty boy, but it’s cute watching you try.”  
  
“...That mean you’re going to say it back?”  
  
“Nah.” Spot smirked at them. “You gotta let me take you out on a date first.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated!! Or hmu @ desert-lily on tumblr!


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